A Call for Mercy

Your frustration, like a toxic cloud, leaks into the air

Negative energies, like a million porcupine quills, stab my spirit

Waves of anger, hatred, cruelly aimed to pierce my soul

Disturbing my peace and sending contentment into the abyss

I try to walk away, to defend myself with space

Your anger follows me seeking that vulnerable crevice,

That crack where it can invade and poison

I cry out to the Divine One for protection, for help

And help comes, bathing me in consolation

I will not be your emotional punching bag, I refuse

And the Divine One, the great mystery, sends help

In human form with warm heart and empathy

With gentle hands and understanding eyes

And I am absolved, forgiven, for my part in this unholy dance

And in my weakness, I am given strength

To persevere, to rise above

The sharpened arrows flung with abandon

A shield surrounds me, protection given

Darkness pierced by loving kindness

And I heal, slowly, slowly I heal

And I am made whole again

And as before the emotional storm

All is well, all is well

Peace and contentment return, like a loyal dog

To dispatch the final dregs of unease

And I call this, ‘mercy’

A Prayer for this journey

Divine One

As I enter one more period of time

When much is unknown and the future uncertain

Guide me on my path

Divine One, please

Help me to always seek You

Help me know and understand your guidance

Lend me Your strength as I wander down this strange and unfamiliar road

Divine One

Thank you for your faithful and constant care

And, if I should meet other wanderers during my odyssey

Let me lift my hand and point to you

My ever-present guide and blessed anchor

This I ask of You, Divine One

Please, Divine One, sit with me as I wait

Grant me patience, grant me peace

Help me imagine the best possible outcome

Fill my being with hope; with trust

Please, take away all fear, anxiety, and stress

Bless my mind and let only good thoughts enter in

Bless my heart with kindness and love

That I may share these gifts with others

Grant me strength of mind, body, and spirit

To support myself and my dear ones

In every way

Guide my footsteps and be with me on my path

Bless these hands as they work for You and for all

This I ask of you, Divine One

I thank you for your constant care

I thank you for all those I hold dear

I thank you for this life I live

I thank, Divine One, for everything

Soul whispers

Suspended in limbo

Soft, soft whispers of my soul

Saying quietly, ‘hold on, just hold on’

Through darkest night

It keeps telling me, ‘hold on’

“Nothing lasts forever”,

That gentle voice went on,

“Even things you wish could

Whether the day is grim and bitter,

Whether the sun shines warm upon your skin

Just hold on

Whether icy winds feel like talons,

Breaking all your bones

Hold on

Whether your heart feels frozen stiff,

Or is melting like ice cream in July

Hold on

Whether the scent of lilacs waft upon a gentle breeze

Or pine trees bend in terrible tempests

Hold on

Savor the sweetness when it comes

And hold on

Nothing lasts forever

And there is little you can do

But hold on, hold on”

Cocooned

I am in a rut

But I am comfortable here

There is calm in the sameness

Like a caterpillar in a cocoon

I am safe, protected

Walled in from all harm

I many not be living

But existence is so fine

May I stay a little longer,

Wrapped in this cocoon of mine?

Rest from Life’s battles

Do not sit staring into the darkness overlong

Do not gaze into the abyss so long that you become embittered

Leave it now, take the hand of the Divine One and be led

Through deepest forests where the scent of pine is fresh and cool,

Along white beaches with the sand warm beneath your feet,

Climb to the mountain peaks and gaze in wonder at the earth below you,

Stand on rocky cliffs and allow the majesty of the sea to remind you,

Life is not all turmoil and drudgery; it is not meant to be so bleak and joyless

Do not let these dark days bind you, enslave you, consume you

Do not drown in the toxic waters of hate; of unforgiveness

Come, be filled with a new life of joy and well-being

Rest from your worries and the endless, wearisome, ongoing fight

Be nurtured, for the battle will rage on long after your life is spent

What will you choose today, for you have been given freedom of thought

Honor this life you’ve been given and look up, away from the darkness

Look upon the infant’s face or gaze into the eyes of the old ones, filled with wisdom

Hold the hands of your loved ones and know you have not been abandoned

Take this day and rest from your sorrows and the ongoing battle

Know the Divine One is here at your side to uphold you, to comfort you in your pain

Know you are never, ever alone, even through these dark and painful days,

And take leave of this great abyss to which you’ve been ensnared

Be joyful today and remember who you are, who you have been created to be:

A blessing, a benediction to a suffering world in travail and be, just be

For you are part of the beauty created and recreated today and every day

Be recreated today. Be reborn in love, in peace, in joy, in all that is good.

Come, now, look no further into the abyss. Look up, my dear ones, look up!

Beauty disguised

Conflicted

Wanting your praise

Even as I reject it

Needing your approval

Even as I strive to do without it

Hating being objectified

Like some ‘thing’ of beauty

And craving affirmation

As I am

Feelings of never being enough

Not good enough

Not smart enough

Not pretty enough

Not thin enough

Not wise enough

Not quick enough

Not enough

And then you left

Without apology

For feeding my insecurities

And I faltered yet again

Threw away everything

 that reminded me of you

And it is only now,

Today,

That I came to know

I am enough

Just as I am

And you . . .

You were so wrong

So misguided

So blind

And I pity you

For never seeing

Never recognizing

Never knowing

The truth I hold

In beauty disguised

To sing a triumph song once more

For on the morrow we shall rise

And know again that life goes on

Despite the actions of the few

That imperil and cause such strife

The questions fade, it matters not

We’ll pick up the pieces and carry on

Never forgetting the price once paid

When ignorance married arrogance,

That set the world on edge,

and filled each and every human heart

with anxiety.

Deepest hurts we’ll tend and heal

With gentle touch and love most real

The stress and worry once endured

Shall tumble down like twigs and sticks

Caught in rushing waters

Anguish and pain, likewise caught,

Shall float away upon the rivers of time

Carried, carried, far away

Until at last we stand again on steady legs,

With bodies strong,

With sturdy minds and hearts aglow,

With clear eyes and ears attuned

To hear the whispers and the roar

Of a world singing triumph songs

Once more

Dancing in my dreams

Moon beams dancing upon rooftops

How I wish I could join in

Weary legs, broken feet

Dance only in memories

Moon beams competing with the sun

No way to outshine that heated glory

And I, with worn body feel her pain.

She just doesn’t have it in her

To light the world that way

Moonbeams, does she not yet know

How she feeds our souls

And I, with my youth long spent,

Gaze up into the night skies

Wishing to touch the moon

For her glory, too, is faded

When compared with a sun so bright

So age to youth is seen

A pale shadow of what was once

And yet, and still, there’s a soul dance

Like moon beams on rooftops

And still alive am I

Dancing in my dreams

A Prayer to Encourage

Divine One grant me strength

To serve with love and compassion

With wisdom beyond my own

Grant me:

Energy when I am weak

Rest when I am weary

Inspiration when I am hopeless

Quenching waters for my thirst

And calm in the midst of storms

Divine One, come,

Fill me when I am empty

Comfort me in my sorrow

Give healing for my soul

Please take my hand and hold it

When I feel so all alone

For when the night is darkest

And when my tasks are done

Let your peace be my pillow

My blanket, trust sublime

And then,

Help me when a new day dawns

To do it all again